Loyalties
by Hollyberries and Vanilla beans
Summary: Costa Rica was raised her entire life believing that Spaniards were the devils spawn. Murdering, raping, abusing, and forcing the countries of Central America into years of hardship and slavery. Despite this, she cannot stop herself from helping (and eventually falling in love with) a sick and dying Spanish sailer she finds on the shores of her home. Can love truly conquer all?


**WARNING-** This story WILL live up to it's M rating, I promise. Please don't read it if you don't like it. For those who are reading this story just for the M rating, there is not action in this first chapter. SORRY! Everything naughty is gonna start in the next chapter. But, if you really want to know what's going on, you should read this first one anyway. As a side note, PLEASE do not judge my historical inaccuracy! This idea came from a daydream where reality was in the backseat. One more thing, yes I am not a native Spanish speaker but I wanted an added element to the story (plus Spanish is hot). If It's wrong, let's just pretend that it's not, okay? Please do let me know if you find any mistakes though, my editing was only a quick scan. Thank you for reading, please continue and enjoy! Peace~Berries and Beans

It all started off as a normal day. Early morning tropical sounds and smells filled the air as I was roused from my deep slumber by my brother, Nicaragua. "Costa Rica!" he whispered, careful not to wake the humans of my country I surrounded myself with in the small hut. My eyes slitted open and I could just barely make out his wiry frame in the dark shadows of the early morning that were cast by the filtered light coming trough the cloth over the door. "COSTA RICA!" He whispered more harshly the second time. "Hnnnn? What... I'm up, I'm up!" I dragged myself up off of the grass mat that served as my sleeping place and turned stiffly to face him. "Nicaragua, let me dress, I'll meet you outside soon." he respected my wishes and left. I readied myself quickly, taking off my light sleeping outfit and donning the plain, worn, pale dress that happened to be my favorite and haphazardly combing my fingers through the tangled, dark mane that was my hair. After grabbing a mango out of the wooden bowl on the table and taking a large bite from it, I exited the hut to catch up with my brother as he made his way through the village and out into the waiting jungle.

It was a time of new beginnings for my 'family'. My eldest brother, Mexico, had just gained his independence from Espana. The rest of us had quickly followed suite in declaring our own independence. Although non of us were rich, it felt good to at least be 'free'. I had not suffered the most during the time's of hardship and slavery but it was nice to see my brothers start to recover from their ordeal. Smiles had once again started appearing my brothers faces and I hope times of peace will follow the war and hatred. Despite this, I know that they would carry a grudge for the 'stupid European bastard' for (most likely) the rest of their existences.

"Okay, this is far enough." Nicaragua turned to me and handed me a large wicker basket that he had been carrying. "Collect whatever fruit you think we don't have enough of so we can dry it later. I nodded. "What will you be doing, Nicaragua?" He pulled a large net from the bag on his shoulder. "I'll see if I can't catch some fish for later, how does that sound?" I smiled. "Perfect, when do you want to meet back in the village?" He shaded his eyes and looked at the sun through at narrow gap in the jungle canopy. "It will take a great while to walk to the area where I wish to fish... be back in the village before sundown and the final meal of the day and I will do the same." I nodded again. "And if you are not back by then?" His eyes flashed with laughter. "Little sister, where is your faith? He continued, If I am not back by then, look for me by the fresh waters that are located where the jungle thins. And you, Costa Rica?" I returned his same look from minutes ago. "I am headed towards the fruit trees near where the fresh river meets salt water." His eyes darkened. "Be careful. The Spanish mongrels should be gone by now but in case there are any lagging behind the others..." I laughed. "Please, do not be concerned for my safety, brother. I can handle myself." His eyes grew darker still. "If you see ANYTHING, I want you to hide and then return to the village when it is safe to alert one of the others." I snorted. "Costa Rica... I want you to promise me." My heart softened. I leaned forward and pecked him affectionately on the check. "I will be safe." He smiled again. "Good, be back in the village before sundown." Cheekily I quipped, "Si, _padre__._" He ruffled my hair playfully and we parted ways.

...Time skip...

I sighed and hefted the nearly full basket of assorted fruits up onto my shoulder. Using the back of my arm, I wiped the perspiration from my forehead. Glancing at the sun, I noted that I had lots of time before I needed to even think about heading back. Grinning to myself at my hard work, I decided to take a break and head to the beach to explore for a bit. My adventurous nature had always gotten the best of me while working (but seeing how I was basically finished with my chore, a change of pace _did_ seem to be in order). I walked toward where I knew the coastline to be and when the end of the trees was in sight, I stashed my basket between several shady fig bushes and covered it with palm boughs. I hesitated at the treeline. Poking my head through, I surveyed the surrounding beach and ocean. All clear. I stepped out onto the fine, soft sand and sighed. How I had missed the feeling of sand in my toes. I loved how it shifted and sank with each of my steps. Making my way across the beach to the ocean, I stopped ankle deep in the water and let the waves rush over my lower calves. I tilted my head back and looked up to the sky. I let my arms extend out from my body and basked in the warming sunlight and playful breeze. A breathless and happy laugh rushed from my lips. Life was good. I stood like that for a long time. After wading through the water for a bit afterwords in search of pretty stones and shells, I glanced at the sun and decided I had used enough time here. I turned back toward where I had left the trees and something caught my eye that I had not seen from my angle in the jungle. A man in red resting against a tree with his boots in the sand and his arms loosely hung at his sides.

_No._

The shells I had just collected fell from my open hands and were reclaimed by the sea. _No. _My every instinct told me to run yet I stood frozen. _no no no no no no no no no n-wait... he's not moving..._ Slowly I started to piece together the situation. _It's okay, it's okay. He's dead._ True to what I had first seen, the man was just lying there. Hope rose in my chest. _He looks dead. _The hope was immediately followed by a crushing guilt. Why? He wore Spanish clothing, he was obviously an enemy. He killed my brother's people and forced them into slavery. A tiny voice nagged me in the back of my skull. _But he's still human. _

Hesitantly I stepped forward. Towards the man, not away from him like I should have. This was followed by another step. _WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! __He's a murderer, let him suffer! Or better yet, let him already be dead! _My brother's sister in me screamed. However, the human being in me spoke louder. _I can't leave__ him. Nobody deserves to die alone. _And then I was in front of him. He was dressed quiet well. Full captain attire that was obviously very fine and expensive was now sticking to his body and starting to crust over with salt. The hat he had probably once worn was now long gone. Instead, his damp chocolate colored curls clung to his finely chiseled face. Despite his tough looking, wiry build, he somehow also managed to possess a slightly delicate quality to his frame. His head was tilted to the side and rested on his shoulder. The rest of his body was completely limp. Slowly, I reached out to press my fingers against the side of his exposed neck. I waited. There, a heartbeat. It was faint, but it was there. I moved closer to him until we were only inches apart and brought my hand up under his nose. There was breath. My hand continued to his forehead and I pressed the back of my hand there. I immediately yanked it back. He had a fever. And it was bad. I rocked back on my heels and rose. There was no time to waste. I silenced the voice in my head telling me to stop and sprinted back to where I had stashed my things. I drew the small flask of water I had out from under the basket and knelt at the stream to refill it. I set it down on the bank beside me. Reaching to the bottom hem of my dress (and wishing I had chosen to wear something else that day) I proceeded to rip several long, thick strips from it and soaked them in the cold stream water. Picking up my flask and the wet makeshift bandages, I returned to the man on the beach.

Once again, I dropped to my knees in front of him. I positioned both of my legs on either side of his legs to get as close as possible. I set down the flask and pressed the fabric strips to his face. He shifted as I began to wrap them around his head. Murmuring something unintelligible, he tried to pull away from me and open his eyes. Unconsciously, I attempted to comfort him in Spanish. "No, te calmes, amigo. No quiero tu hero." His hands shakily came up to grasp my wrists, yet I did not stop him because I wanted him to stay calm. He shifted his body. His eyes still would not obey his brain and open, but he had better luck with speaking this time. His head tilted farther to the left and his face turned into one of confusion, even with closed eyes. "Ro-romano...?" So... he thought I was someone else... Gently, I answered his question. "No, me llamo Evita. Represento La Republica de Costa Rica." He shivered and I realized that the fever was taking a toll on his body. I slide my right hand out of his grip and grasped my flask. Using my teeth to uncap it, I pressed it to his lips in an attempt to get him to drink. No good. He kept turning his head away; he was too delirious to understand that the water would help. I brought the flask to my own lips and filled my mouth with the life giving liquid. I twined my fingers into his hair, pulling his head back lightly, leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. He jerked in surprise and misery from the heat of his own body but opened his mouth anyway. I pressed my tongue into his and brought my hand up to his throat and stroked his neck, making sure he swallowed. After repeated this several times, he relaxed and sighed. I turned away and recapped my flask. After putting it aside and firmly tying the head cloths in place, I started to rise, only to be stopped by him grabbing my arms once again and pulling me towards him.

He mumbled something that I didn't understand so I leaned closer. "Que?" His eyes flickered open and I was struck by the desperation filling their shimmering green depths. His voice was weak but understandable. "No salgas, por favor." His grip tightened. My heart fluttered uncontrollably and my stomach danced like it was full of butterflies. "No voy a hacerlo." I responded gently. He began to close his eyes again and his hands fell away when I had a sudden thought. "Como te llamas?" He sighed but managed a whisper before he faded once again into unconsciousness. "An...to..nio".


End file.
